Drying apparatus



Jan. 2,1926. 1,569,302..

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DRYING APPARATUS File 11- 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2. 4,

Jan. 12 ,1926. 1,569,302

C. REES ET AL mmuc APPARATUS Filed Oct. 22, 1924 4 Sheets-Shed} a FIE J.

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C. REES ET AL DRYING APPARATUS Filed 001:; 22 I 1924 4 sheets-Sheet 4 #1n7" roe/vars Patented Jan. 12, 1926.

warren STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

CLAUDE REES AND CHARLES F. EINE; OF SAIT Fr. ANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DRYING APPARATUS.

Application filed October 22, 1924. Serial No. 745,148.

To ((13 whom. zit may concern: 7

Be 1t known that we CLAUDE Rnns and 7 Grains-us F. lztrivn, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of the city and county of SanFrancisco, State of California, have invented a certain new and usefulDrying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. y

The invention relates to a drying apparatus for drying, dehydrating orpartially de hydrating materials such 'as fruits, vegetables and otherproducts which require drying to place them in condition for use orsale.

7 An object of the invention isto provide a simple form of dryingapparatus having a relatively small capacity.

Anothe object of the invention is to provide a d ng apparatus throughwhich air or other drying medium is circulated by a single blower.

Another object of theinvention is to provide a drying apparatus havingmeans intermediate the discharge and the inlet of the blower, for mixingor agitating the air or drying medium to overcome the effect.

stratification, due to the heating of the an.

Another object of the invention is to pro-- vide a drying apparatus inwhich the direction of the flow of air with respect to the materialsbeing dried may be reversed without reversing the direction of the flowof air.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drying apparatus ofsmall capacity in which the material to be dried is arranged in trayswhich are disposed in tiers and in which the material in the upper andlower trays of the tier are subjected to substantially the same dryingeffect.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drying apparatus inwhich the tiers of trays are rotatably mounted, so that the positions ofthe tiers may be reversed.

The invention possesses other advantagoons features, some of which withthe forewill be set forth at length in the tel- 11;; description wherewe shall outline in full that form of the apparatus of our inventionwhich we have selected "for illustration in the drawings accompanyingand forming part of the present sp cification. in said drawings we haveshown two forms 53 of drying apparatus embodying our invention, but itis to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to such form, sincethe invention, as set forth in the claims, maybe embodied in a pluralityof other forms. Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a horizontal section taken through a drying house embodyingour invention, directly below the roof of the house.

Figure 2 is a cross section of the house talren on the line 22 Figure l,a portion of the structure being broken away to further disclose theconstruction.

Figure 3 is a detail of one of the turn tables forming part of thedryer. v

Figure 4 is a vertical cross section through the turn table shown inFigure 3.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section through a modified form of drying houseembodying our invention. I

Figure 6 is a side elevation of one of the tiers of trays and;

Figure 7 is an end elevation of one of the tiers of trays and theadjacent portion of the house.

The drying apparatus of our invention comprises a house or otherenclosin structure into which the material to be dried is introduced.The material is preferably arranged on trays and the trays arranged intiers, the trays being constructed to permit the passage of air betweenthe successive trays in the tier, tor the purpose of drying the materialdisposed on the trays. The house is preferably divided into twoelongated compartments and air is circulated by a blower through the twocompartments in succession. the blower being arranged at one end of thehouse so that it receives air from one end of one compartment anddischarges the air into the adjacent end of the other compartment. heair then passes down through one compartment and back through the othercompartment to the intake 01": the blower. A tier of trays is arrangedin each compartment so that the air passes through the two tierssuccessively.

air discharged by the blower is preferably heated before it passesthrough the first tier and. in passing through this tier and dischargingtherefrom, it becomes stratified, the warmer air passing to the top andthe cooler air settling to the bottom. If this stratified air werepermitt'ed to pass through the second tier, the material in the uppertrays would be dried. to a much greater extent than the material in thelower trays. To overcome this deleterious efiect, we haveprovidechwithin the house, between the two tiers of trays, a device formixing or swirling the air, so that the air entering the second tierenters in a uniform stream. The blower operates to produce a current ofair through the house in one direction, but it is advisable in theproper drying of some material such as fruit and vegetables, that thedirection of the How oi? air with respect to the material be reversed,so that the material at both sides oi the tray will be equally dried. Toaccomplish this result, we have provii'led means for reversing orrotating the tiers through an angle of 180 degrees so that the directionof the flow of air with respect to the trays is reversed. The tiers arereversed at suitable intervals, so that all of the material is subjectedto substantially the same drying effect. The reversal of the tiers ispreferably accomplished by the provision of turn tables upon which thetiers are disposed, so that the tiers may readily be rotated throughangles of 180 degrees. In order to overcome the necessity of greatlyincreasing the house, to take care of the swing of the tiers as they arerotated, we have provided an aperture in the partition dividing thehouse into two compartments, and have provided closing strips forclosing the space between the edges 01" the tiers and the edges of thepartition to prevent the flow of air around the tiers.

Any desirable means may be employed for heating the air and in thedrawings we have shown a radiator through which the air passes before itenters the passages in the first tier. The radiator is heated by thecombustion of fuel and this heat is conducted to the air as it passesthrough the radiator.

Reterring particularly to Figures 1 and 2, the drying apparatuscomprises a house or other enc osing structure 2 having large doors 3 inits side walls, to permit the introduction of and removal of tiers oftrays from the house. The tiers of trays are prefly arranged on trucksat, movable on traclzs 5 which extend transversely through the house topermit the ready introduction and removr il of tiers o't trays.

The house is divided into two compartments 6 and 7 by the longitudinallyextending partition wall 8. which is interrupted at that portion of thehouse through which the tracks 5 pass, to permit the trucks with theirtiers of trays to be passed transversely through the house when desired.The trays are preferably formed with substantially impervious bottomsand are provided with side walls 12 which extend upward above the endwalls 13 so that when the trays 14: are arranged in tiers, a horizontalpassage is provided between each two successive trays.

Each tier thus comprises a plurality of superposed layers of material,spaced apart by horizontal passages through which the air passes. Theside walls 12 ot the successive trays are in contact, so that the airmay only pass longitudinally through the tier of trays, the successiveside walls 1 of the superposed trays forming a substantially solid sidewall of the tier. The air is circulated through the con'ipartments 7 and6 successively and consequently through the tiers l5 and 16 in the twocompartments successively. To prevent the air from passing through thespaces between the edges of the tiers and the partition wall 8 and theside walls of the house, movable shutters are arranged to close thesespaces, so that substantially all of the circulating air is directedthrough the horizontal passages in the tiers. The side walls or" thehouse are provided at the sides of the doors 3 with inwa'i'd extensionsl? which terminate adjacent the path of movement of the edges of thetiers, when the tiers are rotated. The partition Sis similarly providedwith a short cross partition 18 at opposite sides of the opening in thepartition 8, and the ends of the short partition 18 terminate adjacentthe path of the edges of the tiers, Pivoted to the projections 17 areshutters 21 which are movable into contact with the sides oi": the tiersto prevent the passage of air through the spaces. Similarly, shutters 22are provided at the ends of the partition 18 to close the spacesexisting atthose points and the shutters 22 are arevided with rods 23which extend to the side walls of the house, so that the shutters may beopened and closed while the tiers of trays are in position. During thedrying operation the shutters are in position to close the gaps betweenthe tiers and the house structure, and when it is desired to remove orrotate a tier, the shutters are moved back.

Means are provided for permitting rotation of the tiers and preferablycomprise turn tables 2-1 arranged within the house in the path of thetransverse rails In the construction shown in Figure l I have providedtwo turn tables spaced aparta. suiiicient distance to permit rotation ofthe tiers of trays arranged thereon. The turn tables are provided withtracks which are alined with the tracks 5 so that the trucks l may bereadily run onto and off 01" the turn tables. The upper surface 01 theturn table is flush with the floor of the house and the turn table ismounted on rollers 25 so that it may be readily rotated. A bolt 26 isassociated with each turn table for the purpose or holding it inposition with the tracks thereon alined with the tracks 5. Bywithdrawing the bolt 26, the turn table may be rotated to reverse theposition of the tier in the house, so that the direction of flow of airwith respect to the trays in the tier Hit) is reversed, therebypermitting the'material onboth sides of the center of the tray to beevenly dried. In the construction shown in Figure 5, the turn tables 24are disposed outside of the house and when it is desired to reverse theposition of the tier, the truck carrying. the tier is moved from thehouse onto the turn table, then turnedaround and then replaced in thehouse. With this arrangement the house may be made slightly narrowerthan when the construction shown in Figure 1 is employed, and whendesirable, only one turn table need be provided, but

this will require removing both tiers from the house when it is desiredto reverse the position of the tier which is remote from the turn table.

Means are provided for circulating through the house and through the twotiers of trays in series. Arranged adjacent one end of the compartment 6is a blower 31 driven by the motor 32 and having its inlet opening intothe compartment 6. The main discharge conduit 33 of the blower opensinto the adjacent end of the compartment 7, preferably at the topthereof. The blower is also provided with a' secondary discharge conduit34 opening to the atmosphere, so thata por tion of the air passingthrough the blower, is discharged outside of the house. By thisarrangement, the major portion of the air isrecirculated and a portionof the air is continuously exhausted. This causes the humidity of theair to remain substantially constant and providesfor the discharge fromthe house ofthe excess moisture which is taken up by the air.

Means are provided for agitating or swirling the air discharged from theblower so that it will not remain adjacent the ceiling 35 of the housebut will be evenly distributed throughout the whole cross section of thehouse. This means comprises a deflecting plate or swirling plate 36arranged in the compartment 7 adjacent the discharge conduit 33 of theblower, and as the air discharges f-romthe blower it contacts with thedeflecting plate 36 and is directed downward toward the bottom of thehouse and is again directed upward by the second deflecting plate 3?.This causes a swirling and mixing of the air so that a substantiallyhomogeneous mixture of the air is provided. Ar ranged adjacent theswirling plate 36 is a heater, comprising a radiator consisting of aplurality of vertically disposed tubes/l0 connected at the bottom andtop to the headers 38 and 39 respectively. The header 39 is connected tothe stack 42. Gases of combustion from the furnace orcombustion chamber43 pass through the conduits 44 and 45 into the header 38 whence theypass through the tubes 40, heating the tubes. The air being circulatedthrough the house, passes through the heater and is heated thereby. Inorder to straighten out the swirling movement of the air and to causefrom the air as it passes through the plate 46, so that the air moves insubstantially a straight line through the tier 15 arranged in thecompartment .7.

In passing through the tier 15and in discharging therefrom, the air hasa tendency to become stratified, the warmer air rising to the topand thecooler air settling to the bottom. From the compartment 7 the air passesaround the end of the partition 8 at the far end of the house, into thecompartment 6 and passes back through the compartment 6 to the inlet ofthe blower 31, passing through the tier 16 of trays in its progressthrough the compartment 6. In order to prevent uneven drying of thematerial in the upper and lower trays in the tier 16, due to'theStratification of the air, means are provided for agitating or mixingthe air before it reaches-the tier 16, so that a substantiallyhomogeneous stream of air is directed through the tier 16. This is accomplished by causing the air to pass in contact with a swirling ordeflecting plate'in its movement fromv the tier 15 to the tier 16, sothat stratification of the air is eliminated. Arranged in the opening inthe partition 8 at the far end of the house, is an upwardly v inclineddeflecting plate 51 which inclines upward from the floor of thecompartment '1 to adjacent the ceiling in the compartment 6. The airpassing from one compartment to the other is therefore discharged intothe compartment adjacent the upper portion thereof. Arrangedin the endof the compartment 6 adjacent the air discharge end of the deflectingplate 51, is a curved deflecting plate 52 which deflects the air streamdownward into the substantially semi-circular deflecting plate 53. Inpassing in contact with the deflecting plates 52' and53, the air isswirled and thoroughly mixed, so that substantially all stratificationthereof is re moved and so that the air passes to the tier 16in asubstantially homogeneous, uniform stream. After passing through thetier 16, the air passes to the inlet of the blower 31, by which aportion of the air is recirculated and a portion dischargedfrom thehouse.

The blower 31 is driven by the motor 32, which is arranged in anextension 54 of the house, in which the furnace or combustion chamber 43is also preferably arranged. The furnace shown in the drawings isadapted to the combustion of liquid fuel and a compressor 55 is providedfor furnishing air to atomize the fuel. I

In the drawings we'have shown the invention applied to a dryingapparatus constructed to accommodate two tiers of trays, but it is to beunderstood that we do not limit ourselves to an apparatus which iscapable only of accommodating two tiers of trays, since the arrangementof the house may readily be modified to accommodate a greater or alesser number of tiers.

lVe claim:

1. A drying apparatus comprising a house adapted to receive the materialto be dried, a blower for circulating air through the housouncans forswirling the air discharged by the blower, means for heating the air andmeans for swirling the air as it passes through the house.

2. A drying apparatus comprising a house adapted to receive the materialto be dried, a blower for circulating air through the house, meansadjacent the blower discharge for heating the air, and means in thehouse intermediate the blower discharge and the blower inlet forswirling the air passing through the house.

3. A drying apparatus comprising a house adapted to receive the materialto be dried, a blower having an inlet opening into the house, a blowerdischarge opening into the house, a secondary blower discharge openingoutside the house, means for heating the air discharged into the houseby the blower and stationary means within the house for swirling thecirculating air.

4. A drying apparatus comprising a house adapted to receive the materialto be dried, a blower for circulating air through the house, means forheating the air and means interposed between the blower discharge andthe heating means for causing the air to How in a uniform stream.

5. A drying apparatus comprising a house adapted to receive the materialto be dried, a blower for circulating air through the house, means forheating the air, means adj acent the blower discharge for swirling thedischarged air and means for converting the swirling air to a uniformair stream.

6. A drying apparatus comprising a house adapted to receive the materialto 'be dried, a partition dividing the house into two compartments, ablower having an inlet opening into one compartment and a dischargeopening into the other compartment, an air heater in the lattercompartment adjacent the blower discharge and means in the house formixing the circulating air during its passage through the house.

7. A drying apparatus comprising a house adapted to receive the materialto be dried, a partition dividing the house into two compartments, ablower arranged adjacent one end of the house having an inlet openinginto one compartment and a discharge opening into the other compartmentwhereby air is circulated through the house, means for heating thecirculating air, said heating tending to cause stratification of the airand means at the other end of the house for mixing the air.

8. A drying apparatus comprising a house adapted to receive the materialto be dried, a partition dividing the house into two compartments, ablower arranged adjacent one end of the house having an inlet openinginto one compartment and a discharge opening into the other compartmentwhereby air is circulated through the house, means for heating thecirculating air, said heating tending to cause stratification of theair, a passage connecting the compartments at the other end of the houseand means adjacent said passage for mixing the circulating air.

9. A drying apparatus comprising a house adapted to receive the materialto be dried, a partition dividing the house into two compartments,blower arranged adjacent one end of the house having an inlet openinginto one compartment and a discharge opening into the other compartmentwhereby air is circulated through the house, means for heating thecirculating air, said heating irnding to cause stratification of theair, a passage connecting the compartments at the other end of the houseand deflecting means arranged adjacent the passage for mixing thecirculating air.

10. A drying apparatus comprising a house, two tiers of trays in saidhouse for the material to be dried and arranged with a horizontalpassage above the layer of material in each tray, means for blowing airthrough the two tiers of trays successively, means for heating the airand stationary air swirling means through which the air travels betweenthe trays.

11. A drying apparatus comprising a house, two tiers of trays arrangedside-byside in said house for the material to be dried, said trays beingarranged to permit passage of air through the tiers in a longitudinaldirection only, means for circulating the air through the house so thatthe air passes in opposite directions longitudinally through the twotiers and means for heating the air.

12. A drying apparatus comprising a house, two tiers of trays arrangedside-byside in said house for the material to be dried, said trays beingarranged to permit passage of air through the tiers in a longitudinaldirection only, means for circulating the air through the house, so thatthe air passes in opposite directions longitudinally through the twotiers, means for heating the air before it passes through the first tierand means for agitating the air as it passes between the first tier andthe second tier.

13. A drying apparatus comprising a house. two tiers of trays arrangedside-byside in said house for the material to he dried, said trays beingarranged to permit passage of air through the tiers in a longitudinaldirection only, means for circulating the air through the house, so thatthe air passes in opposite directions longitudinally through the twotiers, means for heating the air whereby it tends to stratify andstationary means for agitating the air as it passes between the twotiers.

14. A drying apparatus comprising a house, a partition dividing thehouse into two compartments, a blower for circulating air through thetwo compartments successively, a tier of trays for the material to bedried arranged in each compartment, said trays being arranged to permitpassage of air through the tiers in parallel paths only, means forheating the circulated air and means for mixing the air after it isdischarged from one tier and before it enters the other tier.

15. A drying apparatus comprising a house, a partition dividing thehouse into two compartments, a blower for circulating air through thetwo compartments successively, a tier of trays for the material to bedried arranged in each compartment, said trays being arranged to permitpassage of air through the tiers in parallel paths only, means forheating the circulated air and stationary air swirling means throughwhich the air passes during its travel between the two tiers.

16. A drying apparatus comprising a house, a partition dividing thehouse into two elongated compartments, a blower receiving air from theend of one compartment and discharging it into the adjacent end of theother compartment, means in said second compartment for heating the air,a tier of trays for the material to be dried arranged in eachcompartment, said compartments being in communication at their otherends and means adjacent said other end for mixing the circulating air.

17. A drying apparatus comprising a pair of compartments arrangedsicle-byside means for blowing air longitudinally through the two.compartments in series, means for heating the circulated air, a tier oftrays for the material to be dried arranged in each compartment, thetrays being arranged to permit passage of the air through the tiers in alongitudinal direction only whereby the air passes through the two tierssuccessively.

18. A drying apparatus comprising a pair of compartments arrangedside-by-side, means for blowing air longitudinally through the twocompartments in series, means for heating the circulated air, a tier oftrays for the material to be dried arranged in each compartment, thetrays being arranged to permit passage of air through the tiers in alongitudinal direction only whereby the air passes through the two tierssuccessively, and stationary means arranged to agitate the air after itpasses through the first tier and before it reaches the second tier.

19. A drying apparatus comprising a house, a partition. wall dividingthe house into two compartments, means for circulating air through thetwo compartments in series, means for heating the air, a tier of traysfor the material to be driedadapted to be disposed in each compartmentand means for reversing the tiers whereby the air passes through thetiers in opposite directions with respect to the trays.

20. A drying apparatus comprising a house, a partition wall dividing thehouse into two compartments, means for circulating air through the twocompartments in series, means for heating the air, a tier of trays forthe material to be dried adapted to be disposed in each compartment anda turntable associated with each compartment for turning the tiers oftrays to reverse the direction of the air therethrough with respect tothe trays.

21. A drying apparatus comprising a house, a partition wall dividing thehouse into two comaprtments, means for circulating air through the twocompartments in series, means for heaating the air, a tier of trays forthe material to be dried adapted to be disposed in each compartment, aturntable in each compartment for receiving the tiers of trays and meansfor closing the joints between the walls of the house and the sides ofthe tiers.

22. A drying apparatus comprising a house, a partition wall dividing thehouse into two compartments, means for circulating air through the twocompartments in series, means for heating the air, a tier of trays forthe material to be dried adapted to be disposed in each compartment, aturntable in each compartment for receiving the tiers of trays andstationary means for swirling the air after it passes through one tierand before it enters the other tier.-

23. A drying apparatus comprising a house, air moving means arranged atone end of the house only for moving air though the house and back tothe air moving means, the air tending to stratify while moving thru thehouse, and means arranged at the opposite end of the house for agitatingthe air and removing the strata therefrom.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands.

CLAUDE REES. CHARLES F. HINE.

